


Take My Breath Away

by zombiegardener



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, First Kiss, M/M, Making Out, Post-Season 4, altean cinema, fast fics, innocence to smut, shance, this is not what i should be doing, though nowhere specific in any sort of timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-28 15:04:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12609292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiegardener/pseuds/zombiegardener
Summary: 5 times Shiro and Lance couldn't catch a break and 1 time they finally got lucky





	1. Let me take a step towards you

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate title- how to go from innocence to frustration to smut in 6 short chapters.
> 
> If smut isn't your thing, no worries. This chapter is so innocent that a unicorn wouldn't run away from it. Tags will be updated as necessary.
> 
> Just as a note, I'm not abandoning my other fic-in-progress. I just had this in my head and the bits kinda already written, so my goal is to have it done by next week so it goes away out of my head. That said, this is also barely proofread at the moment. 
> 
> The title and chapter titles are all taken from _Song #3_ by Stone Sour.

The sounds of the party drifting down the hall behind him were inviting. Soft music was floating on the warm night air, and Allura's laughter rose in a crescendo strain, more carefree than he'd heard it in a long time. The sounds brought a smile to his face but weren't enough to tempt him to turn back. Not when a piece was so obviously missing that the lack was jarring him out of the moment.

He let the faint tang of salt in the air lead him, already knowing where he'd find the missing Red Paladin.

Even with that knowledge, he still paused in something like reverence as he turned the corner. The space opened out in front of him, forming a circular viewing platform surrounded on three sides by the waterfront. Most of the windows were thrown open in deference to the mild night. The largest of the planet's six moons was just cresting the horizon, its rings stretching up into the fading sunset staining the sky with colors reminiscent of the Northern lights back home. 

Lance was standing in front of one of the arched windows, his tall frame looking almost petite in the massive scale of the room. He was wearing the formal ceremonial robes they'd been provided, the red still striking Shiro as out of place after all this time. It was too brash, somehow, too bold, especially when contrasted with the melancholy cast of Lance's face in profile. The expression made Shiro's heart twist, and he leaned lightly against the corridor's edge, not wanting to interrupt but reluctant to leave.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there. Long enough for the color lighting the room to shift as the moon rose fully over the horizon, the iron in its rings turning the water into a bloody pool and making Lance's reflection in the glass of the opened windows at his sides look almost ghostly over his barely visible robe. The thought was disturbing and made him shift enough that the sound finally caught Lance's attention.

The younger man started and glanced over his shoulder, tight expression relaxing as he noticed Shiro. "Oh, hey, Shiro. What's up?"

"Nothing." Shiro pushed himself away from the wall and walked forward, keeping his eyes trained on Lance's face. The sadness in his expression was mostly erased, though traces still remained if you knew where to look. He kept his posture easy and allowed himself a soft smile as he stopped by Lance's side. "I was looking for you."

Lance made an apologetic face and brushed their shoulders together as he turned his attention back to the view. "Sorry. I was just..." His voice trailed off, and some of the distance seeped back into his eyes.

Shiro shifted enough to slide he arm around Lance's waist and tug him closer to his side. "It's fine. I knew where I'd find you."

"Yeah." One hand came up to fiddle with the sleeve of his robe. "I should be there, though. We both should." He flicked his gaze at Shiro, face tightening in uncertainty or guilt.

Shiro shook his head, fingers starting to unconsciously rub soothing circles into Lance's side through the thin material of the robe. "Lance, it's okay. It's a relaxed night. No one will care if we disappear for a little bit."

Lance stared at him wordlessly, eyes wide. "I'm a horrible influence on you."

Shiro huffed out a quiet laugh but didn't dignify that with a response, because a lot of things had been a horrible influence on him but he wasn't sure that Lance was one of them. They both went quiet again, the mood shifting slightly as the brilliant white streak of a shooting star drew their attention back to the light show gracing the planet's evening sky. Shiro snuck glances at Lance out of his peripheral vision, but his mood didn't appear to have shifted back to the melancholy of earlier. Instead he looked almost thoughtful, if still slightly distant. As much as he wanted to pull Lance closer and kiss away the faint worry lines around his eyes, Shiro let the silence stretch, only slightly alleviated by the drifting sounds from the party down the corridor. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, and he knew that Lance would break it when he reached whatever conclusion he was reaching towards. He just needed to give him a bit of time, to show Lance that he would give him his space when needed and avoid straining this so-fragile thing that was growing between them.

"It is beautiful, isn't it?"

He glanced sideways, then, but Lance's attention was still focused on whatever he was seeing out of the windows. His face was in profile again, his normally tanned skin painted with a reddish tinge by the rising moon and the bright blue of his eyes mostly lost in shadow. "It is," he agreed, because yes, it really was. Alien but unbelievably beautiful, more like something out of Hollywood than real life.

Lance was tensing again, his body drawing tight under Shiro's arm. "We've been to a lot of places, and they’ve all looked alien, really. But somehow this," he flung his arms out in front of him as if the landscape had personally offended him.

Shiro waited a moment, but apparently Lance thought that the gesture had answered everything. "This what?"

Lance stared another minute before sighing and sagging against Shiro's side. "I just... I don't think I've ever felt as far away from home as I do right now." 

There wasn't really anything he could say to that. They'd all had that moment- something that was so close to home that it drove their actual distance in like a spike to the soul. All he could do was be there so Lance didn't have to face it alone. He turned and pulled Lance to him, wrapping both of his arms tightly around his waist and placing a kiss on his forehead. Lance sighed again and rested his head on Shiro's chest, face turning so he could look back out toward the water. Shiro followed his gaze, dropping his cheek down to rest on Lance's soft hair. He let the quiet descend again, content to soak in Lance's warmth and the quiet minutes with nothing to do and nowhere they had to be. He closed his eyes and started to move his hands in gentle patterns over Lance's back. He didn't realize that he'd almost fallen into the meditation headspace he'd been taught when he was young until Lance's voice snapped his attention back.

"Thank you."

The words were so soft that he might have missed them if they hadn't been so close. "For what?"

"Being here."

He pulled back just enough to see Lance's face, sliding one hand up to cup his cheek. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be." Lance smiled at that, a slight upturn of his lips that was nonetheless real, and Shiro couldn't help but smile back. They stared at each other wordlessly for a moment before Lance's gaze dropped to his lips, and that's all it took. Lance's arms shifted up around his neck and pulled him down until their lips touched, gently and so hesitantly at first. They pulled apart briefly, breathes mingling with a gasp as their eyes met, before pulling each other back in again. 

Every touch sent a shock of contact through Shiro. He couldn't remember the last time he'd done this, then decided it didn't matter as Lance tilted his head to correct that angle and their lips began to shift against each other. He was barely aware of the tickle of Lance's hair as he moved his hand from his cheek to cup the back of his head, fingers tightening to hold Lance in place as they parted for another breath.

Lance took a tiny step closer, arms tightening around Shiro's neck as their mouths met again. Shiro brushed his tongue across Lance's lips, feeling more than hearing his gasp as his mouth opened in response and one hand fisted in the neck of his robes. Lance's tongue brushed against his with more boldness than he expected, dragging a groan out of him that was mostly muffled by their kiss.

Which was a good thing, since that was the exact moment that their names were called from down the hall. They jumped apart like guilty schoolchildren, faces flushed and eyes wide, although if pressed Shiro couldn't have said why they were embarrassed. They were still staring at each other when Keith's voice cut into the relative quiet.

"Hey, Shiro, Allura wants you to speak to the..." Keith stepped up to them, either blissfully ignorant of the moment he was interrupting or showing more tact than Shiro usually gave him credit for. He waved his hand vaguely, eyes unfocusing for a moment. "The prime minister-type guy?"

"The Koros?" Lance's voice was a little rougher than usual and Shiro had to bite down on a shaky breath at the sound.

"That's him. He might know something about the divisions springing up within the Galra. Something about radio chatter, but he wanted to talk to you." There was a bit of an undercurrent of dissatisfaction beneath those words, but Shiro decided that was a problem for another day. He released his breath in a rush. "Fine. I'll be there in a minute."

Keith blinked at the reply and glanced back and forth between him and Lance, eyes suddenly going wide. "Oh, right. Sure, I'll just go and tell him. Yeah. Take your time!"

"Hey, Keith, found him yet?" Pidge's voice sounded down the hallway.

Keith stopped back tracking toward the door and shot them an apologetic grimace. Lance rolled his eyes, lips quirking up in a wry smile. "Or not."

Shiro smiled back. "I'm sorry?"

"Not your fault. Let's go and get this over with." 

The unspoken promise made Shiro's slowing heart rate ratchet back up. He closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. "Do you want to stay here for a bit?"

Lance shook his head, attention already obviously shifting back toward the music and voices drifting from the main patio. "No, not alone." He stood up straighter, expression easing into his usual easy-going smile as he held out one hand to Shiro. Shiro felt his own smile widen as their fingers slid together and let his own attention turn back to the politics that seemed to follow them wherever they went.


	2. Let me feel you in my hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry about the delay.
> 
> Me: Oh, this should be easy. Six chapters that are short and already outlined. No worries. I can have this done in a week.
> 
> Real life: Oh, is that a challenge? Here, hold my beer!
> 
> Seriously, though, I am sorry, but real life can be an unrelenting bitch, and then I decided chapters 2 and 3 needed to be switched, and apparently Lance thought chapter 2 now needed to be his pov, so whatever. On the other hand, chapter 3 is mostly done and just really needs tweaking because it needed chapter 2 first for direction, so I will do everything in my power to have it up by tomorrow.
> 
> Warning- this is barely proofread, but I wanted to put it up before any other distractions popped up.

Waiting is the hardest part seems like the tritest saying in the universe except for when it's true. Letting out an only slightly exaggerated sigh, Lance leaned farther back in his seat and resisted the urge to start smacking his head on Red's console. He could hear Shiro shifting behind him but resisted the urge to turn around, because he could be professional. He _could_ , damn it.

"It won't be much longer."

Shiro's voice sounded amused, which he guessed was better than exasperated. It wasn't as if he didn't enjoy spending time with Shiro, because he did. He so did. Way too much, possibly, considering that they were in the middle of a war. Or, more accurately right at the moment, in the middle of a mission. So he needed to concentrate. Which he was apparently incapable of doing when he was in Shiro's vicinity on a one-on-one basis for longer than thirty seconds without his mind devolving into scenarios that involved a lot less armor. And clothes. And responsibilities. Because his hormones were quiznaking relentless. None of which mattered, because they had a job to do, and he was _going to do it professionally_ , if only to silence that voice of doubt in the back of his mind that wouldn't stop questioning what Shiro saw in him.

A light touch on his shoulder that just registered as soft pressure through his armor jerked his attention back to the moment. He looked up and was met with Shiro's smile. The real one, the one that crinkled the corners of his eye and looked so fond it made his chest ache for things he wasn't sure he was allowed to have. Shoving that thought away, he forced himself to smile back.

"Yeah, I know. I was just-"

"Bored?" Shiro's voice cut in, still sounding amused.

Lance shifted guiltily, though not enough to dislodge Shiro's hand. "I was going to say concentrating."

"Mmm." Shiro let go of his shoulder much to his disappointment, but only shifted to rest his arms on the top of the seat. "Well, I'm bored."

Lance turned in his seat enough to meet Shiro's eyes fully. "You're bored?" He was willing to ignore the way his voice rose in surprise at the end, because "Shiro" and "not working" weren't words he was used to thinking in the same context, and his brain wasn't quite up to tackling "bored".

"Well, yeah," Shiro answered as if this was a totally normal conversation and not some sort of mind-blowing revelation. "I've always hated missions like this. At least if I'm at the Castle I can do something instead of just sitting and waiting for something to happen."

"I can give you something to do." And there went his mouth speaking before his brain could stop the words. He cringed a bit, only resisting the urge to face palm because he was wearing his helmet and he knew from experience that it hurt to smack the face shield. 

To his complete surprise, Shiro laughed and leaned forward to rest his chin on his crossed wrist just inches from Lance's face. "I bet you can."

Lance froze and stared at him for a moment before bursting out with his own laugh. "Yeah, honestly, I have no idea where to go with that at the moment."

Shiro's smile widened into a grin, making his eyes crinkle into half-moons. It was a good look for him. "I'm sure you can think of something."

"Probably," Lance leaned forward and tapped their helmets together lightly, "but then the comm link will come on and Keith will have to murder me for honor or something when we make it back to the Castle, and is it really worth it?"

Shiro leaned forward again until their helmets were not quite touching and stared directly into Lance's eyes, all traces of amusement lost in his sudden intensity. "Yes."

Lance swallowed and stared back into Shiro's eyes, because holy shit. After a moment Shiro dropped his head back onto his wrists, giving him room to remember how to breathe again. "Besides, it could be minutes or it could be hours. And that's a lot of boredom."

"True." He thought about trying for a flirty attitude, but his voice already sounded hoarse and who would he be kidding anyway? So he might as well go for it and call Shiro's bluff, because he had to be bluffing, right? This was _Shiro_ and they were on a _mission_. As much as Lance talked and despite all the fronts he put on, he really didn't think he had the capacity to be _that_ distracting, even on a good day. 

Keeping his eyes locked with Shiro's, he reached up and pulled off his helmet. He dropped it in one hand, letting it dangle but not quite dropping it on the floor of the cockpit, because part of him was still waiting for Shiro to object. With a tone of regret, probably, but object all the same. The Black Paladin remained silent, though. The only tell he gave was a slight widening of his eyes, which made Lance kind of wonder if he had been bluffing. Really, there was only one way to find out, and it's not like they currently had anything else to do besides wait. Taking a calm breath, he let his helmet drop the last few inches to the floor and pushed himself to his feet.

Shiro stood with him, arms dropped to his sides, and didn't move when Lance stepped up to him. He thought Shiro might be holding his breath as Lance slowly pulled off his helmet and let it drop to the floor with his own, but that could have been wishful thinking. The silence stretched as they stared at each other for another long moment, until Shiro suddenly took a deep breath and relaxed slightly into a small smile. "Took you long enough."

Lance started breathing again in turn and took another small step forward, almost dizzy from the lack of oxygen or the need to touch the man in front of him. Or possibly both. "I was kind of waiting for you to stop me."

Shiro raised one gloved hand and ghosted a fingertip along his cheekbone, making him shiver. "Why?" His voice was slightly deeper and had a rougher edge, which wasn't doing anything helpful for his ability to concentrate, but he made one last ditch effort.

"Helmets. Communication. Mission." He gestured vaguely around Red's cockpit with one hand and then dropped it to rest on Shiro's waist, because he was going to take what he could get, even if it was through their flight suits.

Shiro shook his head, eyes dropping to Lance's lips as his hand moved back to rest on his neck. "We don't need helmets. The Blade will contact us through Red when they're ready for us."

Lance risked a glance at the console and grimaced. "Yeah, that's kind of what I'm afraid of." 

Shiro laughed at that, the sound so light and genuinely amused that Lance was pretty sure his heart actually skipped a beat. Giving in to the voice at the back of his head that was demanding to know what the heck he was waiting for, he reached up with his free hand to grip Shiro's neck and pull the other man down into a kiss. He could feel Shiro's smile against his lips, but it faded after a moment as the other man pulled him as close as their body armor would allow and deepened the kiss. He didn't even try to stop his groan as Shiro's tongue slid against his, dimly aware that for once no one was around to hear them. He dropped his hand to drag across Shiro's waist and up the small of his back. He could feel muscle shifting under the thick fabric of his suit and was suddenly consumed with the need to feel the skin under his hands. He pulled back just enough to yank his gloves off and threw them somewhere toward the back of the cockpit before sliding his palms back up Shiro's sides. He was pretty sure he'd never wanted anything as badly as he wanted to feel the contrast between the smoothness of Shiro's skin and the ridged outlines of the scars that he'd glimpsed but never touched, to feel the muscles tense and shift with every gasp under his hands and mouth until Shiro was a wrecked mess underneath him. He was dimly aware of Shiro's hands on him in return, the movements across his exposed sides blunted by his own suit. That was a problem, because he needed those hands on him and needed his hands on Shiro like he needed oxygen. He gasped into their kiss as Shiro ground their hips together, rubbing his hardening erection against the unforgiving armor and dangerously straddling the line between pleasure and pain.

He pulled back enough to place open mouthed kisses down Shiro's jaw until he reached the edge of his suit again. Growling with frustration, he glanced up from under his lashes and raised a hand to tug on Shiro's chest plate in a silent question. 

Shiro stared at him with wild eyes for an endless second in which Lance silently pleaded with him to say yes, because he needed this, before drawing a shaky breath and taking a small step back. "We can't," he breathed out. Lance must have made a sound of protest, because Shiro was shaking his head, looking as desperate as Lance felt even while he raised a hand to cup Lance's cheek and press their foreheads together. "We can't, Lance, oh my god I want to, but we _can't_."

Lance drew in a slow breath of his own and closed his eyes, letting his fingers tighten on the fabric of Shiro's suit. "I know." He was dimly aware of one of Shiro's hands stroking through his hair, but he didn't dare open his eyes, afraid that he wouldn't be able to resist closing the space between them again. "You started it." He was kind of proud that his voice sounded steady, if still more than a little hoarse.

"I know." Shiro's hand tightened in his hair for a second before going back to stroking. "I didn't expect things to get out of control that fast."

"Well, you said you were bored."

Shiro let out a shaky laugh, and Lance took a small step back and risked opening his eyes. Shiro's eyes were still half-lidded and his cheeks were flushed, but his expression was angling back towards that fond look and his lips were turned up in a small smile. Lance smiled back, and Shiro gave his hair one more tug before stepping away. "Yeah, well, not anymore."

"Me either. Frustrated, yes. Bored? Not so much." He shoved his hair back from his face and glanced around Red's cockpit, at a loss for what to do. He glanced at the chair, but he didn't really want to isolate himself from Shiro completely and he couldn't see any way that anything involving that chair wouldn't end badly. So the floor it was. 

Reaching out for Shiro's hand, he pulled them both down to the floor and leaned back against the wall. Shiro let go to pull off his own gloves and then linked their fingers together but kept a careful couple inches of space between them. Lance leaned his head back against the cool metal and turned to regard Shiro. "We should really think about stocking the lions with cards or board games or something. Do you think the Alteans have a version of Candy Land?"

Shiro turned his head to regard him with that smile. "If they do it's probably terrifying."

Lance grinned back at him. "So more like Monopoly?"

"Mmm, maybe. But the banker is a robot with lasers and there's an obstacle course for Go."

Lance laughed, feeling the tension already starting to drain away. They settled in to the conversation, fingers still linked and providing a point of contact that was at least soothing if not truly what either of them wanted as they waited for Keith and Kolivan to send them the all clear. It was probably for the best anyway, because he wasn't sure he was joking about Keith and his impending murder issue. Besides, he thought, as he rubbed his thumb across the skin of Shiro's hand, there was always later.


	3. Let me cross this line

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not sure I like this chapter. Really. At all. But I'm leaving for vacation for 12 days in an hour, and I said I'd try to post it, so apparently i'm doing this.
> 
> I may rewrite this when I get home (or while I'm on a beach, because these things happen). If I do rewrite it, I'll repost it with a note.

Movie night had become a tradition. The ship had an odd assortment of Altean "cinema"- Coran's term, which made everyone doubt his sanity- and odd videos of varying types from a number of races both current (thank you, space mall!) and long gone. Some were better- or at least more comprehensible- than others, although everyone had some sort of favorite. Surprisingly, Pidge was in love with old sporting matches with rules so convoluted that they might as well not have existed. She claimed the rules were clear enough once you recognized that they were based on higher-order quadratic functions, somehow, but the thought made Shiro’s head ache. Lance and Hunk were addicted to a multi-species variety show that involved music and dancing and commentaries that could have been humor or parodies or a real discussion of current events; it was hard to tell since they were delivered in a style that would have felt at home on an old Monty Python episode. Shiro was partial to episodes of an old serial drama that was closest to a cross between _Guardians of the Galaxy_ and _Game of Thrones_. The fact that he had no real idea what was happening only made it that much better.

On nights like this, though, when exhaustion was creeping in and any amount of concentration seemed like too much effort, they fell back on the small number of movies that has been loaded onto Pidge’s laptop when they left Earth. They'd seen all of them so many times that they could recite every line by heart, but it didn't matter. The familiarity was a balm against home sickness, and they could safely fall asleep together in the presence of the sounds of home, without fear of being jolted awake by the random screaming episodes that sometimes popped up in Coran's favorite picks.

They'd probably watched tonight's movie 50 times, but no one cared. Allura and Coran had rolled their eyes and bowed out to get some sleep, but that was also okay. The last few days had been exhausting, and tonight was more about relaxing than team bonding.

Which was why Shiro wasn't really surprised that he was already half asleep when a movement against his leg nudged him back to wakefulness. He blinked sleepily and glanced down, absently noting that at some point Lance had shifted from his position leaning against Hunk on the floor to leaning against him. The Yellow Paladin was leaning back against the other end of the couch, his head thrown back and emitting surprisingly soft snores. Shiro smiled fondly at the sight and gently dropped his hand to toy with the messy strands of Lance's hair. A glance at the screen assured him that the movie had reached the quiet contemplation bit that came before the ass-kicking that made this one a favorite, which meant that everyone could sleep peacefully for a while longer. He was seriously considering letting himself drift back off when Lance shifted against him again.

He pulled his hand back and glanced down into sleepy blue eyes filled with warm contentment. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't." Lance tilted his head up and rested his cheek on Shiro's thigh. "You don't have to stop." 

Smiling at the fuzzy warmth that blanketed him at the teasing contentment in Lance's voice, he returned to running his fingers through his hair. Lance closed his eyes with a sigh and rubbed his cheek against Shiro's thigh like a cat. The movement made his smile widen, and he gave Lance's hair a little tug in response. Lance made a little humming sound and tilted his head back up to meet Shiro's gaze with a look that was slightly more intense than it had been a second ago. He swallowed and ignored the heat flaring in his cheeks, which was probably visible even in the relative dimness.

Suddenly the movie seemed a lot less interesting. Taking a deep breath, he glanced around the room. Hunk was still asleep, snores still softly vibrating the couch. Keith, who they had successfully picked up after his last mission with the Blade to go over intel, was lying on his stomach on the couch across from them, head buried in his arms. Even Pidge was out, curled up in a tiny ball on the couch in front of the screen. Returning his attention to Lance, he combed his fingers slowly through to the ends of his hair, letting his nails brush very lightly down from his scalp to the back on his neck, and was rewarded with a shiver under his fingertips. Encouraged, he let his wandering fingers sneak under the soft weight of his hoodie and continue across his shoulders. Lance made a soft sound of approval and dropped his head forward to give Shiro better access. 

He pressed down, rubbing his fingertips in gentle circles against the skin he could reach. Lance’s face was turned away from him, which wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to see Lance’s expression. He wanted to see those pretty eyes blown wide with lust, face flushed and desperate. He wanted a lot of things he couldn’t have right this second, but he’d settle for just being able to see Lance’s face and touch more of him than just his neck. So he leaned forward close enough to whisper into Lance’s ear. 

"Come here."

Lance shivered, at the words or the breath on his neck, and shot Shiro a questioning look over his shoulder. Shiro just smiled and patted the seat next to him, because he was 100% done with adulting today, and Lance was much too far away. 

Casting a careful glance at Hunk's sleeping form, Lance eased away and slid onto the couch. Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close until they were touching from shoulder to knee. Lance sighed and laid his head on Shiro's shoulder, a soft smile on his lips. 

"Hey." The whispered word was quiet. 

"Hi," he whispered back, moving his free hand to brush down the line of Lance's jaw. Lance turned his head into the movement, one hand sliding up to rest on Shiro's bicep. 

He scooted minutely closer and nuzzled into Shiro’s throat. “It’s much nicer up here.”

Shiro pressed a soft kiss to his head. “It is now.”

Lance pulled back with a speculative look. "So, everyone's asleep?"

"They are."

"But you're awake."

Shiro moved his fingers to cup Lance's jaw. "Mmm-hmm."

Lance's lips suddenly turned up in a grin that he knew way too well. "I figured you'd be tired, because you've been running around in my mind all day."

And there he was. He rolled his eyes and fought down a grin, because Lance didn't need the encouragement. "Seriously?"

"Come on, babe, you know you love me."

"God help me." Shiro groaned and pulled his hand away to rub at his face. 

Lance just laughed quietly and pulled his hand down. "Something must be wrong with my eyes, because I can't take them off you."

Shiro allowed himself an overly dramatic sigh. "Just stop."

Lance leaned closer, eyes sparkling with laughter. "Make me, boss man."

"Only if you promise to never call me that again when you're trying to get me to kiss you."

"I'll try."

"Good enough." He pulled Lance into him, arms tightening as he brushed their lips together. He purposefully kept the kisses light, not wanting a more public repeat of their make-out session in the Red Lion earlier in the day. He half expected Lance to protest, but the younger man just melted into him, one arm winding around his neck and the other resting on his chest. They managed to stay that way for a while, keeping their kisses and touches light, stopping every so often to just quietly breathe each other in. Finally, craving more contact, Shiro shifted back just enough to slide his hands up Lance's back under his jacket and shirt, groaning quietly into the kiss at the feel of skin on skin.

He felt more than heard Lance's breath hitch as his hands started to slide up the smooth skin of Lance’s sides. Shifting one leg up to rest on top of Shiro's thigh, he pushed the tight material of Shiro's shirt up enough to run teasing fingers over his abs. Shiro hissed out a sound that might have been Lance's name and forgot himself enough to deepen the kiss, sliding his hands up to grasp Lance's shoulders and pull them closer together. Lance made that soft sound of approval again and moved his hand from Shiro's abs back around his shoulder as he climbed almost into his lap. Shiro shifted his focus and started to place kisses down the long column of Lance's throat until he found a spot that made him throw his head back. Biting down lightly pulled a soft moan out of Lance's throat, and he pushed Shiro away to dive down and reclaim his mouth. Shiro had just tightened his arms around Lance and shifted, ready to lay them back on the couch because they still weren't quite close enough, when Hunk stirred in his sleep with a snort. 

They froze, pulling apart just enough to regard each other with wide eyes before Lance moved to scramble off of his lap. Feeling uncomfortably like a teenager caught with a date in his parents' living room, he glanced around, not releasing the breath he hadn't realized he was holding until he took in the thankfully still sleeping forms of his teammates. Lance dropped his head back on the cushions next to him. A glance to the side told him that his boyfriend was staring wide-eyed up at the ceiling. "Please tell me everyone's still asleep." The question emerged as a whisper.

Shiro shot him what was probably a shaky smile. "Everyone's still asleep."

Lance nodded but didn't look away from the ceiling. "Good. That's good." Quiet descended for a moment, broken only by the sounds of the movie still playing in the background and Hunk's soft snoring. "So apparently we have no self-control."

The comment surprised a quiet laugh out of him. "Apparently." He shifted slightly closer to Lance and reached over to take his hand. "We should probably do something about that." He felt a flutter of nerves, because increasingly heated make out sessions aside, they'd never really talked about the physical side of their relationship. There just never seemed to be enough time. 

"God, yes." Lance leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before dropping back onto the cushions. "Later, though. Apparently almost having a heart attack is a mood killer. Who knew?"

"Sweet! This is the best part!"

Whatever Shiro was going to say was lost in Pidge's sudden exclamation. Lance's fingers tightened convulsively around his, and they both glanced over to the other couch to find Pidge sitting up and totally focused on the screen. They glanced at each other again. Lance shrugged with an apologetic look. "It kind of is." And yeah, it totally was.

He glanced at Lance with a silent sigh, weighing his options. He didn't want to leave, really. His room seemed like it was a universe away, and being surrounded by his teammates was comforting. Besides, all he needed at the moment, really, was Lance in his arms. He wanted to feel him under his hands without their damn armor in the way. Everything else could wait.

Giving in to the inevitable, he shifted until he found a comfortable spot on the cushions. Lance shifted closer to cuddle against him, dropping his head onto Shiro's shoulder and giving his hand another squeeze as they settled in to watch the rest of the movie. And if they fell asleep like that during the next movie, it wasn't the worst way his night could have ended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm not going to finish it before I leave, I've put the next 3 chapter titles below if anyone's interested. The next part is where things really start to pick up, which is why this one gave me fits.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, even if (maybe especially if) my wifi access for the next 12 days is going to be spotty at best.
> 
>  
> 
> chapter 4- Let me show you where it leads
> 
> chapter 5- It's screaming from within
> 
> chapter 6- Let's set it free


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